Daily Jihad: Did 130+ Canadians Join The Islamic State?

Some 130 Canadian nationals have gone overseas to fight in Syria and Iraq on behalf of radical Islamist groups, according to a recent report by Public Safety Canada.

The report added that, specifically, the conflict in Syria–with Sunni Islamist forces fighting against Shia Islamist forces–has motivated Canadian Muslims to join the jihad. “The number of extremist traveler’s participating in the conflict (in Syria) is hard to determine, but is believed to be greater than the number that traveled to the conflicts in Afghanistan or Iraq,” the report states.

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Thus far, at least seven of the Canadian jihadi fighters are confirmed to be members of the Islamic State terror outfit that is waging holy war in Iraq and Syria.

Additionally, sources have claimed that the men responsible for abducting US reporters Theo Curtis and Matt Schrier were of Canadian origin, according to a report by Canada’s CBC News.

One such example of Canadian Islamic terrorism occurred in Iraq, when Calgary-native Salman Ashrafi was reportedly responsible for a suicide-attack last November that killed forty-six.

Another Calgary-born individual, Farah Mohamed Shirdon, posted a video on social media setting his Canadian passport ablaze. “This is a message to Canada and all the American Tyrants,” he said. “We care coming and we will destroy you.” Shirdon was reportedly killed while waging jihad in Syria last month.

Canadian officials are worried that many of the Islamist radicals are returning home after their involvement in Middle East wars. “The Government is aware of about 80 individuals who have returned to Canada after travel abroad for a variety of suspected terrorism-related purposes,” the report states.

A Canadian intelligence report on Islamic radicalization made public in 2012, according to Kurdish paperRudaw, stated, “Radicalization has been detected in a number of venues” and not just in religious centers, that report mentioned. The Internet, family circles, prisons, and traveling abroad were found to persuade an increasing number of Canadian nationals to shift to extremism. “Radicalization will continue to develop in the foreseeable future in Canada.”

As American journalist James O’Keefe has recently proven, the US border is also vulnerable to infiltration from the north. On Monday, O’Keefe posted a video of himself crossing the Canadian border into the US via Lake Erie while dressed as an Islamic State terrorist. He met zero resistance from US border patrol or any other security officials during his journey onto American soil.